Best Lamb Recipes – How to Pick the Best Lamb Cuts at the Store

Picking out the best, freshest lamb cuts to make great tasting lamb recipes is not an easy task. Not only are butchers relatively scarce in the environment today (as large super-stores dominate the landscape), but with little time to shop, many buyers do not even bother to check a number of key things to make sure the lamb they are buying is the best.

One of the easiest ways to identify whether lamb is fresh is to first make sure that it is not spoilt. Identifying spoilt meat can be narrowed down to checking a few key things:

• Check the use-by date (if packaged). As far as I am aware, there is no law to say that meat needs to be sold by its use-by date. This is particularly important if you are shopping in country areas where the turnover may be substantially lower than in large cities.
• Check the color of the meat. Fresh lamb should be pink or red in color. Any meat that is darker is likely to Electronics be older (or alternatively, may come from an older animal and so will not be as tender). Also be aware that the lighting in some stores may cause a reaction with the meat turning it darker, so it is best to look at the meat once it has been pulled out of the display cabinet.
• Smell the lamb. If it smells rancid or bad, then it is likely to be spoiled. Do not take chances here – even if it looks fresh and only has a mild odor, then this could be a sign that it is starting to spoil, and it will not last long.
• Closely analyze the surface. Lamb that is spoiled will often have a smooth or slimy texture resulting from bacteria growing on it. In addition, any visible signs of growth or mold (such as areas that are black, green or white) are unmistakable signs that the meat is spoilt.

Lastly, if the lamb has been frozen for quite some time, this may change the color of the meat and some of its nutritional value may be lost, but it should still be safe to eat. Nevertheless, lamb that has been impacted by freezer burn will likely be touch, dry and unpleasant.

Dustin Banks likes to make sure he gets the freshest meats when going shopping. He maintains a website that documents his best lamb recipes [http://www.lamb-recipe.com] and hopes others also share his love for food.